We are currently looking for 2 volunteers who are curious and keen to learn more about community building and living; yoga, meditation and personal development; healthy diet and lifestyle; vegetarian cooking; sustainable food growing; permaculture design, construction; recycling and good use of resources. Additionally it will be very helpful if you have interest or skills in some of the following areas: building and other DIY activities; social entrepreneurship, event planning, promoting and hosting; web design and social media; capacity building and project incubation; transition to resilient local communities; outreach to refugees.

Sustainable Living Lab is an experiential learning project which immerses participants in a multicultural environment focused on living in community, daily yoga and meditation, performing practical tasks associated with living sustainably, and serving the wider community. The project is located at Ananda Gaorii, an ashram and seminar facility with an organic garden in the Danish countryside about an hour from Copenhagen. Ananda Gaorii hosts regular workshops, classes, retreats and trainings in the areas of yoga and meditation, health, permaculture and a wide range of subjects related to building sustainable and harmonious communities, and runs a commercial organic bakery. Ananda Gaorri has around 20 residents and is the home of monks and others who focus on spiritual development, following a celibate and healthy lifestyle. Therefore we asked volunteers to wear a modest clothing, do not show physical affection in the public, do not consume drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and non-vegetarian food.
The objectives of the project are: 1) To provide participants with non-formal learning experiences that will strengthen their community living skills, deepen their personal growth, give them tools to improve their physical and mental health, broaden their vision and give them an opportunity to learn the values and competencies related to living sustainably and managing an active project; 2) To offer short term learning experiences to those who attend the classes, retreats, workshops and trainings offered at Ananda Gaorii 3) To benefit the local community by organizing activities which help support and integrate refugees and build a more resilient community; 4) To strengthen our engagement and cooperation with other organizations sharing similar goals; 5) To encourage volunteering; 6) To create projects which promote a sustainable lifestyle

We expect from you to participate in daily meetings, helping with domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning and etc. and 25 hours of work for the project a week. The activities of the project include: planning and organizing the daily life of the community; learning and practicing yoga and meditation including an option to learn how to teach basic yoga classes; building, maintenance, renovation and interior design; bakery cleaning, growing food; collecting food, gardening, permaculture design, developing systems for recycling and efficient use of resources; hosting and promoting workshops, retreats and classes; looking after the project’s website and social media; guiding and coordinating short term volunteers; engaging refugees in cultural and learning activities; participating in farmer’s markets and other local activities; creating, coordinating and facilitating small projects which can help Ananda Gaorii become more self-reliant and sustainable; philosophy classes; workshops and entertainment programs. Between ten to twenty short and long term volunteers are normally present on the project so the duties and responsibilities will be shared amongst all according to individual abilities, interests and the needs of the moment.

Send your CV and motivation letter (no more than one A4 page) in English to gaorii.connections@gmail.com or a video to our facebook page Ananda Gaorii Ashram, Farm and Learning Center. Please indicate in the motivation letter or the video to which activity you are interested.